The Checkup
by celrock
Summary: Two-year-old, almost three-year-old Tommy, goes in for his checkup, only for him and his mommy to learn something from the doctor that they didn't realize. Upon learning this, and hearing some advice from the doctor, will this visit change Tommy, making him a cautious, health nut? Or can Peter and the other Rugrats snap him out of it, before it's too late.
1. The Doctor's Appointment

Author's Note: The events of this story take place between the events of two stories I have yet to release, but will be made available later on this month, so I apologize if one story has been slightly spoiled now, but I assure you, that story will be released sometime soon. Now, on with this story!

The Checkup

Summary: Two-year-old, almost three-year-old Tommy, goes in for his checkup, only for him and his mommy to learn something from the doctor that they didn't realize. Upon learning this, and hearing some advice from the doctor, will this visit change Tommy, making him a cautious, health nut? Or can Peter and the other Rugrats snap him out of it, before it's too late.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters. I own any OC's you don't recognize, like Zack and his Aunty Celeste, while Peter is owned by TCKing12.

Chapter 1, The Doctor's Appointment

Location: Lou and Lulu's Retirement Home, Early August, 2014

Tommy and Dil had been staying overnight with their paternal grandparents at the retirement home. However, on this particular day, Tommy would have to leave early. While he was waiting for his mommy to pick him up, he overheard his grandparents having a conversation in the kitchen.

"Oh con flabbit Lulu, I can handle this myself." Shouted Lou from the kitchen, as he was picking up a heavy bag of fishing gear.

"Now Lou my darling, you need to be careful. You have high cholesterol, and based on what the nurses here told me, you've got high blood pressure too, and I want to grow old with you you know." Said Lulu with a smile, as she reached down to try to help her husband.

"I don't need no help." Lou bellowed.

"Now Lou, you really need to relax." Said Lulu.

"Relax, relax, oh con flabbit, just what I need, is somebody telling me to relax. Besides, we're already old." Said Lou.

"But I wanna grow older with you. And it's not like you need to give up everything you like to do. Just, try to take a step back for a minute. Smell the flowers, take in the fresh salty sea air. Don't be in such a rush to catch a fish today." Said Lulu.

"Maybe I should just, cancel the trip all together. Watching the sprouts over the last couple of days has worn me out anyway." Said Lou, just as a knock was heard at the door.

Lou and Lulu came into the small living room to answer the door, to find Stu and Didi standing there.

"Hey Pop, ready to go fishing?" Stu asked.

"Uh, sorry but I'm gonna have to take a raincheck on the fishing trip. This old man needs to rest." Said Lou, as he sat down in his favorite easy chair, leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Oh don't mind him, you and I can take Dil out for the day while Didi takes Tommy to his checkup." Said Lulu.

"Great idea!" Said Stu, as his one-year-old son Dil tottled over to him, giggling.

"Ready to spend a day of fun with daddy and grandma Lulu Dilly?" Stu asked playfully, as he scooped up his son, and Lulu scooped up his diaper bag that was hanging on a hook by the door.

Didi came inside and found Tommy on the floor, who was watching everything going on.

"Time to go to the doctor's for your checkup sweetie." Said Didi with a smile, as she scooped up the two-year-old toddler and took Tommy out to the car. She buckled him into his car seat, and they were off to the doctor's office.

Tommy never looked forward to going to the doctor's. If anything, over the last year, he had been so many times, not to mention, to the hospital a few times too, that he was hoping it would just, all end one day. While on the drive to the doctor's office, he recalled everything he had been through over the last year or so. It all started a hair over a year ago, when he got The Gray Plague. He was in the hospital for practically forever, and even after he was released, until his second birthday, when he got the vaccination, he still didn't feel quite right. He also missed Chuckie's third birthday party, and half of a Reptar Live show as a result of the effects the plague was having on him. And if almost losing your Reptar wagon to the cousin of the Mcnulty boys isn't enough to make you mad, not to mention, your babysitter Taffy turning into a baby temporarily, as a result of hitting her head, just like what happened with his daddy a long time ago isn't difficult to deal with, having bad luck with your health is enough to make anybody cranky.

His health hadn't been exactly the best over the last year. Around the time when fall was really settling in, and he met Bobby Generic, on top of getting his first splinter and wasp sting at a preschool Chuckie was visiting for the week, soon learning he was allergic to wasps, he also caught a terrible cough and cold over the weekend. While recovering over that, he dealt with Angelica suffering from Amnesia, and once Angelica's amnesia was gone as well as his terrible cold and cough, he started suffering from the pain of getting some new teeth that were late coming in, going through those troubles over the next month or so, dealing with that up until right after Halloween, when that finally subsided, allowing him to celebrate Thanksgiving, Chanukah and Christmas, more or less, in peace. Also during this time, he helped Bobby become a better roommate with his brother Derek, learned from Taffy that everyone had been invited to go to Washington D.C. the next summer to see her start her international tour, and he helped Bobby and Hector, give Bobby's dog Roger, a bath. He also learned about the real meaning of Christmas from Zack, that it's about the birth of Jesus, and his little brother played him in a pajjent on short notice, and Tommy had fun telling Dil his own version of the story, of Twas the Night Before Christmas. Even Taffy got into the Christmas spirit, by telling them the story of The Nutcracker.

Then he celebrated the new year, though he was switched with Chuckie's body for a day, once he was switched back, things more or less, calmed down, and the first month of the year went off without a hit. He got his first library card and had fun with his friends. But then he fell ill with a terrible virus, that had every awful symptom imaginable along with it. A soar throat, a cough that caused him to throw up, and on top of it all, he got a sinus infection, and the antibiotic prescribed gave him diarrhea, and seeing he was also potty trained right after the start of the new year, which, other than having some accidents while adventuring, once he remembered to go enough, those quit, but diarrhea wasn't so easy to control, having several accidents, and while plagued with this terrible virus, he met Rosie, his first childhood crush, which, while he was happy to meet her, as a result of this, he had some embarrassing moments in front of her, and didn't feel quite up to his best, sort of dampening the experience. By the time he felt back to his old self, Rosie had left for home, and their only means of communication, was Peter's iPhone using something called Facetime Video calls.

Then, if that wasn't enough to dampen things, a couple weeks later, he was playing with Bobby Generic on the playground, when he fell down and broke his leg. He had to get his leg put into a cast, and he had to sit around, not being able to move for over a month. He tried to convince himself he was healed sooner than he actually was, by ripping off his cast and saving Kimi from being tortured by Timmy Mcnulty at some indoor fun zone place, only to injure his leg further, prolonging his time in a cast. It was the most boring several weeks in his short little life, and he hoped he'd never have to go through something like that again. At least come the end of that whole ordeal, Fifi had a second litter of puppies with the Generic's dog Roger, Tommy and his friends got to meet Captain Squash in person, and even more exciting, he had been invited to Rosie's birthday party, getting to take a trip to Boston for the big occasion!

Well he and Peter went on this trip, only for Tommy to get a stomach bug while visiting, making it the worst vacation he had ever taken in his entire life, and once again, being sick in Rosie's presence. After returning from this trip, he had only been home for a few days, when he and his brother Dil, both got colds, and Tommy's, turned into a sinus infection. At least with the second sinus infection, the antibiotic didn't give him diarrhea, but he was having trouble sleeping at night and during naptime, thanks to some nightmares, as a result of the torment he underwent while in Boston, with Rosie's evil villan, a boy named Reggie, who in Tommy's eyes, was even more of the bane of his existence than his cousin Angelica surprisingly. That was finally rectified right before his mommy graduated from college, when Reggie came to town to visit his uncle, showing up at the park, at which time, he stood up to that kid, and with the help of his little brother and friends, got rid of Reggie and his terrible nightmares, once and for all. He also discovered his favorite celebrity singer, Sherry Berry during this time, and while it was sad to learn that his mommy wasn't going to have another baby as a result of a miscarriage, he didn't mind too much, since he already had a little brother to play with.

Then, on the day of his mommy's graduation, he awoke with a terrible cold, which actually turned into an ear infection, and man did that hurt! Not only were the tubes in his ears uncomfortable, but as a result of Zack trying to get them to the graduation by himself, after overhearing something his mommy said to his daddy about getting yourselves to her graduation, they got lost, Tommy got hurt, and while in the hospital recovering, he was hit by Dr. Difinsmirtz's turn everything evil inator, so Tommy dealt with being an evil wreck for about a week, thanks to the shadows that took over his body. Once that ordeal was all over though, he still had the ear infection to get over, and the trauma of being worried he'd hurt people, seeing halusinations of the shadows in his mind, until everyone reassured him that they were gone for good, he had nothing to worry about. Things calmed down after that, as they had a surprise graduation party for his mommy, then over the next month, Tommy attended Bobby Generic's first t-ball game of the season, and some sleepovers with his friends. He also witnessed being shrunk to the size of a crumb for a day with his brother and friends, thanks to a shrink ray invention his daddy and Peter had invented, luckily, they eventually, became regular size again. And then at Father's Day, they learned the truth about Kimi's daddy. He even had a nice Fourth of July, going to see the new art museum reopen and rescuing his screwdriver and Chuckie's moon rock from a reflecting pool on the grounds, thanks to Dil grabbing a hold of them and throwing them into one of the pools while venturing through the grounds of the museum with their folks. They also saw fireworks and heard grandpa play trumpet with the local band, thankful he didn't lose his teeth this time around. But not long after that celebration, Dil came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, and it was up to Tommy and his friends, to make him feel all better.

While they got him to feel better, thanks to Peter taking them to the Hundred Acre Woods to get him some honey for his tea with lemon, Tommy caught it a few days later, not long after he said his first word to the grown ups, and being worried that Reptar would disappear. He was sick for a week with the worst case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease his doctor had ever seen, and had to miss the big trip to Cynthia Land, seeing Dil go do something without him. He was cheered up though when Zack and his friends had all risked their lives without him at the theme park, to bring him back a get well present, a stuffed blue kitty cat. A few days after that, he was over the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, so he then went on a camping trip with his grandpa, Bobby Generic, and Bobby's uncle Ted, only this trip wasn't the most pleasant experience either.

Poor Tommy nearly drowned in the lake, got lost in the woods with Bobby, who got sprayed by a skunk, and if that wasn't enough, Tommy got into some poison ivy, making him all itchy, and as a result of eating some bad trout on a stick that Ted had brought along, not realizing the expiration date, poor Tommy on top of his poison ivy, also suffered from food poisoning, which took forever to go away. He couldn't eat anything for days, and suffered some terrible pains in his stomach, that sent him to the hospital. Also, his grandpa Lou hurt his back and twisted his ankle on a route while searching for him and Bobby, and during a good part of that trip, grandpa and Ted didn't get along. The best parts of that trip were Tommy helping Bobby overcome his fear of thunder storms, and Bobby, finally convincing Tommy to try swimming, then he wouldn't drown, as the water was nothing to be afraid of, once he knew how to swim.

But the poison ivy and food poisoning felt awful, and even though they went to Tommy's maternal grandparents, to use the same treatment for curing skunk smell on Bobby that was used on Chuckie, Tommy felt miserable by this point, and just, wanted to go home, which got prolonged even further when Ted went the wrong way, getting them lost for several hours. They finally got home, and Tommy spent a lot of time in bed, on the couch, or in the bathtub, until his poison ivy and food poisoning went away.

Now he was heading to the doctor's for his checkup, after being able to eat regularly for only a few days at this point, and in about a week, they would be leaving for Washington D.C., and in a week and a half, Tommy would be turning three-years-old. In Tommy's eyes, he'd classify his year at age two to be a year of the terrible two's, and he only hoped the checkup would go well, as well as his trip to Washington D.C. and his third birthday. He was also hoping he wouldn't have to get a shot at this particular appointment, but if he did, he's just stick it out and go through with it, and not run off like what he did at his last checkup, when he originally met Hector.

"We're here Tommy." Said Didi, as she pulled into the parking garage at the doctor's office, got Tommy out of his car seat, and they went inside.

They headed up to the waiting room, and Didi let the secretary know they were there. Tommy sat down and played at the duplo table, saddened to learn he was the only child in the waiting room at the time, waiting for an appointment.

"Tommy Pickles?" Said a nurse in the doorway, as Didi gathered him up from the duplo table, and they headed back to an examining room.

While there, the nurse weighed and measured him, took his blood pressure, and wrote some things down on a chart. She also let them know Tommy wouldn't be having to get any shots at this particular visit, which was a relief to Tommy, as he didn't particularly like getting stung by the needle. Once the nurse was finished, and Tommy changed into one of those examining gowns, the kind that tie in the back, which his mommy did, the doctor came in.

"Good morning Tommy." Said Doctor Shacter with a grin as he entered the room.

"Reptar!" Said Tommy with a smile.

"Ha ha ha, I see!" Said Doctor Shacter, as he took out a clipboard and set it down on the examining table next to Tommy.

"Oh, don't mind him now, Tommy just started talking about a month ago, saying his first word." Said Didi.

"Oh yes, yes. So, how are things? Is the food poisoning finally gone? Do you still need that referral to the gastro ancronolgist?" Dr. Shacter asked.

"No, I don't think so. Tommy seems to be eating just fine for a few days now, so I canceled that appointment." Didi replied.

The doctor looked through Tommy's medical history on the chart.

"I see this little boy has been through a lot this past year. His first splinter, we have documented that he's allergic to wasps. He hasn't developed any other allergies, has he?" The doctor asked.

"No, thank goodness." Didi replied.

"I see he's had quite a few colds, contracted that virus that was going around last winter, stomach bugs, two sinus infections, a broken leg, a head injury and ear infection, a really bad case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease just a few weeks ago, and some of his teeth came in late. No surprise on the teeth thing since he was born one month premature, according to our records here." Said the doctor.

Didi nodded when the doctor looked up, then turned back to the chart.

"He got his booster shot at the last checkup, and he has gained some weight, gained about ten pounds since his last checkup, and grown roughly five inches. Good, good." Said Dr. Shacter, as he made a few marks on the chart and continued to look through it.

Then, something caught his eye.

"Tommy wasn't, a Gray Plague survivor, was he?" Dr. Shacter asked.

"Yes, yes he was." Didi replied.

"Well I have some news for you on that. It says here after suffering for approximately three months, he was finally vaccinated, however, while he can't get the plague again, we've recently been doing some research on this terrible plague, as it's only broken out in the U.S. over the last year, unknown to us until now, only being known by people in third world countries, most of which, don't survive from it. Turns out the gray plague is known for weakening, if not destroying the immune system. So while Tommy can't get the plague anymore, during the three months he had the plague, it weakened his immune system to a point, that had things gone much longer, he would have most likely died from the plague." Explained the doctor to Didi and Tommy, who was eyeing some pictures the doctor had on the wall, but also listening.

"So are you suggesting that this weakened immune system could be the reason for why Tommy got sick so many times over the last year?" Didi asked.

"It is very likely so, yes. Tommy is lucky to be alive. I do have to ask you, what is Tommy's date of birth?" Dr. Shacter asked.

"August 11, 2011." Didi replied.

"Ah, so he'll be turning three soon then. Are there plans to send him to preschool?" Dr. Shacter asked.

"Yes, he'll be attending in the fall. Anything you recommend? He will be around other children, in a new environment." Said Didi with concern.

"I wouldn't worry too much, though with his weakened immunity, I'd take some extra precautions. You know, make sure he gets his flu shot, and during cold and flu season, just keep a closer eye on him, as sometimes, the vaccination isn't for the virus that's going around, as we saw happen this past winter. And of course, make sure he has a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, make sure he gets plenty of rest, I recommend he continue to take naps at least once a day for another couple of years while he can, make sure he's dressed appropriately for the weather, you know, warm clothing on cold winter days, and staying in wet clothes or playing out in the rain is strongly discouraged, as that can lead to colds faster, encourage hand washing, that will help keep the germs away, and if going on any trips, all of your family, Tommy included, can benefit from taking Airborn." Said Dr. Shacter.

"Now no worries doctor I've read about the bulk of this in Lipchitz, but what is this, Airborn stuff? We will be taking a trip in about a week to Washington D.C." Said Didi.

"Oh no worries Mrs. Pickles, Airborn is this tasty liquid, it's like a special kind of juice, you drink it or mix it in with water and drink it either right before you leave on the trip, or while traveling, and it helps to ward off air born diseases that you could catch while traveling." Explained Dr. Shacter.

"Well thank you doctor, I'll see about having Tommy drink some." Said Didi.

"You like juice Tommy?" Dr. Shacter asked, as he continued on with the examination.

Tommy smiled and nodded.

"He loves apple juice, huh Tommy." Didi said playfully, as Tommy cooed.

"Well I believe you're in luck. There's an apple flavored Airborn that they say is appealing to young children. You can get it at your local supermarket." Said Dr. Shacter, as he listened to Tommy's heart and lungs, looked in his eyes, and looked inside his ears.

"Ears look clear, good, glad to see no more ear infections." Said the doctor.

"Heart and lungs are sounding good too. You're healthy as a horse, for now anyway kiddo." Said the doctor, as he finished up his exam.

Then, he tested Tommy's reflexes, which were quick, and to wrap up the exam, he had Tommy stand on the floor, and bend over.

"Balance is good. Well Mrs. Pickles, despite all that's gone down over this last year, he's doing great for now. Do you have anymore questions for me before I see to wrapping it up here?" Dr. Shacter asked.

"So, tell me something, do you see Tommy having trouble with his health as he gets older?" Didi asked.

"I wouldn't worry too much. He is still young, it's quite possible what all went down this last year could just, be a complete cooencidence. Chances are he might suffer from stuff while in preschool and kindergarten, ear infections, colds, and stomach bugs are the most common things we see in children between ages three to five, but lucky for Tommy, he already had the chickenpox last year, so he'll bypass that entirely. My advice, I'd just make sure to keep things sanitary and healthy around him for the next few years, now that the gray plague is no longer in his system, and because he's so young, there's a good chance his immunity will build back up over time, in fact, I bet ya within the next six to seven years from now, he'll be so healthy, hardly ever catching what's going around, it will be as if this year of unlucky health, never happened." Said the doctor with a twinkle in his eye.

"Thank you doctor." Said Didi, as she helped Tommy get dressed in his regular clothes.

"Want a lolliepop Tommy?" The doctor asked, as Tommy eyed some stickers on the counter, and saw a Reptar one.

"Reptar! Reptar!" Tommy said excitedly, pointing to the sticker.

"Ah, good little boys, do deserve a sticker. Here you go." Said Dr. Shacter, as he gave Tommy the Reptar sticker, and he stuck it to his shirt.

Then he gave Tommy a green lolliepop, and Didi grabbed Tommy's hand, and they walked out of Dr. Shacter's office.

"Have fun in Washington D.C. and good luck with starting preschool." Said the doctor.

"Thank you." Said Didi, as they walked down the hall back towards the waiting room, and saw to leaving the building.

"Well Tommy, glad your checkup went well. We'll just need to make sure you get a flu shot when they're giving them out come October, November or so, and we'll get some of that Airborn stuff to take on our trip next week." Said Didi with a smile, as she saw to buckling Tommy into his car seat, and she got into the driver's seat of the car.

Before driving off, she looked at her phone, to see if she had any text messages. There was one from Stu, claiming that because grandpa had canceled the fishing trip, as a result of feeling tired, he and Dil headed for home, and he fed Dil his lunch. Didi turned on the car, put on one of the CD's that she had bought a while back from the music class that Tommy and Dil attend with their friends on Saturday mornings, and they headed for home.

While on the drive home, Tommy thought about what all went down at the doctor's appointment. He also thought about the times he got sick over the last year. It usually happened, either when Rosie was present, or after he had just accomplished some major adventure, saving somebody or overcoming some huge problem. He also thought about all of the things the doctor was suggesting to be done to stay healthy, and remembering to earlier that day when he overheard his grandparents talking about high blood pressure. Now he didn't quite understand the whole thing about high blood pressure, but he surely knew what blood was, it's that red sticky stuff that comes out when you get a cut. Worried that maybe his current way of life was causing him to get sick so much, Tommy decided at that moment, that it was time for a change. No way was he going to let this upcoming trip to Washington D.C. and his third birthday, be sad, ruined events for him.

Upon getting home, Didi took Tommy inside where she smelled pizza.

"Hey champ, how was your doctor's appointment?" Stu asked, upon Didi and Tommy entering the house, where they found Stu and Dil on the couch, watching a Goober video.

"It went just fine Stu, though I found out something interesting today." Said Didi.

"Oh? What is that?" Stu asked.

Didi went on to explain to him what the doctor had told her about the gray plague, and that it's possible that could partially be the cause of so much of Tommy's illnesses over the last year.

"Well what do you think Deed?" Stu asked.

"Well, I think it's quite possible it was only a cooencidence, but I'm gonna continue to make sure my children are fed a healthy diet, and encourage healthy practices around here. Hand washing and getting plenty of rest being amongst them. We should also make sure Tommy gets his flu shot come the fall." Said Didi.

Stu nodded and returned his gaze to the television, as Didi took Tommy into the kitchen to feed him some lunch, where she saw that Stu had fixed Dil pizza squares for lunch.

"Honestly, doesn't he know how unhealthy those things are?" Didi said to herself, as she dished up Tommy a plate, as despite this, she knew he liked them too, and he was very well behaved at his doctor's appointment, so he deserved a treat.

However, overhearing what his mommy said, Tommy wasn't interested in having any pizza squares. He ssat there at the table, staring at his plate for a minute, before pushing it away.

"Come on Tommy, you don't want any pizza squares? Hmmm." Said Didi, as she looked around the kitchen, until she found a nice tasty banana, and chopped some up in a bowl for him.

"Here sweetie, want a banana?" Didi asked, as she gave him the bowl. Realizing that a banana was fruit, and the doctor said to eat lots of fruit, Tommy ate it with no hesitation. He then drank the sippy cup of apple juice that was placed before him, before jumping down from his place at the table, and running off into the living room.

Once in the living room, he curled up in the easy chair where his grandpa would usually pearch himself when he'd come for a visit. No sooner had he sat down, when Dil tottled up to him.

"Hey Tommy, wanna play?" Dil asked.

"Nope, this old baby needs his rest." Said Tommy, memmicing what his grandpa had said earlier that day, as he leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes.

Dil just stood there, looking at his brother, a bit shocked and worried. It wasn't like Tommy to volunteer himself to take a nap, unless he was really tired, or didn't feel well.

" _Did something happen at the doctor's today? Is my brother Tommy ok?_ " Dil thought to himself, as he toddled away from Tommy, who was now, fast asleep.

And this, ends chapter 1. So, has Tommy indeed changed? We'll find out, in chapter 2!

Author's Note: I'll point out very quickly here that the bulk of the things that Tommy remembered happening to him over the last year, have occurred in several Fan Fic stories that I've either released over the bulk of this last year, or have yet to release in the future. However, all stories referenced in this one, have their summaries on my profile, if they have yet to be completed at this time, to give you an idea of what was being talked about, and when it will most likely occur on the timeline of events during Tommy's second year of life. And, I should hopefully, have the next chapter up sometime later on today, since it seems the distractions of my neighbors, are at a minimum today.


	2. Health Nut Tommy

Author's Note: Rosie and Mary, OC's owned by Nairobi-harper, are liable to make an appearance in this chapter, if not the next chapter, and I forgot to place her into the disclaimer on chapter 1, so figured I'd better do it right quick at the start of this chapter, to save myself. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the next chapter.

Chapter 2, Health Nut Tommy

Later that day, Tommy went to Zack's for a sleepover. Upon arriving there, he discovered Zack watching an episode of Super Why on DVD. Tommy despised Super Why, but most of all, he despised Zack's obsession with the show. Regardless, he decided to be a good guest, and let Zack finish watching the episode, since they were more or less, up to the end of the episode, as Zack had watched the show plenty of times at his house for Tommy to know what to expect on that show, as the plots for all episodes were pretty much the same.

"And our super storybook answer is, helthy!" Exclaimed Whyatt on the TV.

"Why?" Princess Presto asked.

"Because, if I eat foods that are healthy, I'll have enough energy to play in the park!" Exclaimed Red.

"Hip hip hurray, the super readers, saved the day!" Said all of the super readers in unison.

The episode finished up with its closing song and Red eating a bowl of berries, giving her energy to play in the park with her friends, followed by the closing credits. Then, it returned to the on screen DVD menu, as this was the last episode on the disc. At that point, Zack turned his gaze away from the TV, to see that Tommy had arrived, and was sitting on the floor quietly, waiting for the show to be over.

"Hey Tommy, glad you could make it to my sleepover. We're gonna have so much fun!" Zack said excitedly.

"Uh, yeah." Tommy replied.

They played quietly with some blocks on the living room carpet for a little while, until Zack's aunt called them into the kitchen for some dinner. Upon entering the kitchen, Tommy remembered what his doctor had said earlier that day about hand washing. As it pained him to remember this, he recalled watching an episode of Super Why one time with Zack, where one of the characters, was learning the same thing, and he recalled the secret storybook answer being bubbles. Noticing Celeste was at the sink, he climbed on the foot stool she had by the sink, and reached his hands into the sink in front of her's, to wash his hands.

"Oh, sorry Zack sweetie, let me move so you can wash your hands." Said Celeste, not realizing it was Tommy at the sink, not Zack.

"Reptar Reptar." Tommy said.

"Oh, sorry, it's you Tommy. Glad to see you're taking up an interest in being healthy." Said Celeste, as she got him some soap, and Tommy washed his hands.

After Tommy finished washing his hands, it was Zack's turn.

"Ok Zack, your turn." Said Celeste, as she got him over to the sink, and he too, reluctantly, washed his hands.

After the two toddlers were seated at the table, with bowls of steak and noodle soup in front of them, Zack gave Tommy a look.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Since when did you find washing your hands was so important? Don't tell me you've finally decided to follow the super readers examples." Said Zack.

"No, I don't care for that Super Why TV show and you know it. I think I've tolded you this like elevendy bazillion times. I went to the doctor today, and he gave me all of these tips on being healthy. You know how I've been sick a lot this lastest year, and recently got over being poisoned, and I'm sick of it! From now on, I'm going to live my days, the healthy way." Said Tommy with a determined look in his eyes, as he went on eating his soup.

"Well, ok then, that's all right with me." Said Zack, as he too went on to eat the rest of his soup.

Once the boys were finished with their dinner, Zack pulled out a Reptar DVD from the shelf, thinking Tommy might like to watch it. He carried it over to his aunt so she could put it on for him, but it was getting close to time for them to be winding down and heading off to bed.

"Oh, Zack sweetie, it's unhealthy to watch movies right before bedtime, we can watch this tomorrow. Let's get you two bathed, brush your teeth, and get you all ready for bed." Said Celeste, as she put the DVD on top of the television, and saw to getting Tommy and Zack ready for bed.

They went into the kitchen where they said goodnight to the appliances, went into the bathroom where they brushed their teeth and took their bath, and then, once everyone was dressed for bed in their pajamas, Celeste read them a Braille copy of one of Zack's favorite storybooks, Goodnight Daniel Tiger, before tucking them into Zack's Reptar racecar bed, shutting out the lights, and leaving the door open enough so Tommy and Zack could get out to go potty, as Zack was just starting to be potty trained. She had him wearing big boy training pants at this point, but she was determined to get him potty trained before they left for Washington D.C. the next week, and Zack had been wanting out of his diapers for a while now, so to Zack, he was quite ok with this.

"Well, goodnight Zack." Said Tommy, as he rolled over on his side of the bed to go to sleep.

"Huh? You don't wanna lie here and talk about stuff? Or maybe go on some big adventure? Remember, I don't share a room with a little brother like you do, we can have fun when you come to my place." Said Zack.

"No Zack, we've gots to go to sleep, getting plenty of rest is healthy. Now goodnight." Said Tommy, as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Well ok, goodnight then." Zack muttered disappointingly, as he too rolled over and went to sleep.

Little did Zack know just how much more Tommy would drive him and the others crazy the following day. The next morning, Tommy and Zack awoke to find that all of their friends, Chuckie, Kimi, Phil and Lil, had all come over to play. They got there, just in time for breakfast, where Celeste served everybody bowls of Reptar cerial. Everybody dug into their cerial, except for Tommy. Since Celeste was blind, she's go around periodically and see if each of the kids was eating their cerial, by listening for them crunching on the food. When she noticed that Tommy was sitting back in his chair, only drinking the apple juice she had poured for him into a sippy cup, she became concerned.

"You don't want any cerial sweetie? Let's see what else I can find you to eat." Said Celeste, as she opened the fridge and pulled out some Greek yogurt.

"How about some nice, tasty, healthy Greek yogurt. It's Zack's favorite! Maybe you'd like it too Tommy." Said Celeste, as she placed the small individual container of yogurt and a spoon down in front of Tommy, as she had put the other spoon she had given him for the cerial into the bowl, so she probably figured he wasn't going to want that one. Tommy ate every last bite of the yogurt with no hesitation, and he recalled eating yogurt a lot the times he suffered from diarrhea over the last year, learning that eating yogurt would take it away, so he ate every last bite.

"Why didn't you want Reptar cerial Tommy?" Lil asked.

"Yeah! Reptar's the best!" Added Phil.

"It's not healthy." Replied Tommy, as he ate his last bite of yogurt.

Chuckie just gave his friend a look, a bit confused at Tommy's behavior, as he washed his hands before breakfast with no hesitation or anything. Then, after breakfast, Tommy and Zack, who were still in their pajamas, needed to get dressed, but Tommy was perfectly comfortable in his blue and white striped long sleeve buttondown shirt and long panted pajamas, that he didn't wanna take them off. Zack on the other hand, got dressed in his usual attire, which now that he was getting potty trained, he still wore his dark blue short sleeve t-shirt, but he now wore a cotton pair of red shorts with pockets in them to go with his shirt. Once Zack was dressed, he and Tommy, still in his pajamas, joined the other toddlers in the living room.

"Hey, you're not dressed Tommy, you ok?" Chuckie asked.

"They're nice and warm, and the doctor tolded me to wear warm clothes so I wouldn't get sick." Said Tommy, as he sat down on the floor with the others.

At that moment, Zack, who was sitting on the floor next to Chuckie, turned towards him and whispered something in his ear.

"Tommy went to the doctor's yesterday, and he's been acting like this ever since he came over for our sleepover yesterday night." Zack whispered into Chuckie's ear.

Later, Celeste had filled up a little wading pool of water and put it out into their small backyard for the toddlers to have a swim in. Everyone put on their bathing suits except for Tommy, who remained in his warm, comfy pajamas, and sat on the concrete patio, watching them splash around in the water.

"Come on Tommy, come in and play with us!" Kimi exclaimed, as she held Zack's hand and the toddlers, jumped up and down in the water, laughing and giggling.

"I don't wanna." Tommy replied, not moving from his spot on the patio.

"Who are you and what did you do with my real bestest friend?" Chuckie asked.

"I'm right here Chuckie, I just, don't wanna get my clothes wet. The doctor said wet clothes can cause you to catch a cold." Said Tommy.

Nervous, Chuckie got out of the water, ran over to Tommy, noticed his bathing suit was wet, so took it off and wrapped up in one of the beach towels that Celeste had put out.

"What's wrong Chuckie?" Kimi asked.

"Uh, Tommy said we'd catch colds in wet clothes, so I took mine off. Except I now feel all nakie!" Said Chuckie.

Everyone else all followed suit, and did the same, getting out of their wet bathing suits, except for Zack.

"Guys, I didn't say you all had to get out of them. You haven't gotted sick this year." Said Tommy.

"Come on guys, come swim with me, it's fun!" Said Zack.

Phil, Lil, and Kimi all put back on their bathing suits and got back into the water with Zack. Chuckie, stayed with Tommy.

"Go on Chuckie, I'll watch you from right here." Said Tommy.

"Nah, it's more fun if you come with me." Said Chuckie.

At lunch time, Celeste heated up some fried chicken and barbecue sauce for the toddlers for lunch, since it's one of Zack's favorite foods. However, Tommy, remembering his mommy making a comment one time about fried chicken being unhealthy, declined the food.

"You don't want your lunch today Tommy sweetie? You feeling ok?" Celeste asked out of concern, as she found some more yogurt in the fridge and gave it to him to eat. She knew he'd at least eat the yogurt, as she found he ate all of it at breakfast, and sure enough, Tommy ate it this time around as well.

"Let me guess, fried chicken is unhealthy too." Zack whispered into Tommy's ear, as he wasn't up for frightening Chuckie again.

Tommy nodded, as while he wanted to be healthy, he wanted his friends to decide on their own if they wanted to eat healthy, yet though, deep down, that chicken smelled good, and he was longing to have some, but he knew it wasn't healthy, so pushed it away.

After lunch, Celeste put on the Reptar DVD that Zack had gotten out the previous night, only to have Tommy turn it off.

"Hey! We were watching that." Zack exclaimed.

"Remember what your aunt said? It's not healthy to watch TV. Let's look at one of your books instead." Said Tommy, as he got down the Super Why giant book of fairy tales off of the shelf, and placed it in front of Zack, who was getting pretty good at reading to the toddlers now.

"Uh, Tommy, my aunty said watching movies before bedtime wasn't healthy. It's not bedtime." Said Zack.

"Yeah, but isn't it going to be nappy time soon?" Tommy asked.

"I don't remember Zack's aunty saying anything about nappy time." Said Lil.

"Me neither." Said Phil.

"I know, let's go on an adventure into the secret cave! And Tommy can lead us there." Suggested Kimi.

"Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea you guys." Said Tommy.

Everybody gasp. They were use to Chuckie saying something like that, but not Tommy.

"Why not?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, that's my line. Come on Tommy, really, what's wrong?" Chuckie asked.

"Have you guys noticed that over the lastest year, ever since I gotted the gray plague, if we've gone on some big aventure, not long afterwards, I'd getted sick, or broked my leg, or something? Well I'm tired of it. I wanna be healthy. I don't wanna get sick, or booboos, or broked legs no more, so no more aventures." Yelled Tommy.

"Come on Tommy, I'm sure not every adventure we've gone on since I met you guys has gotten you sick." Said Zack.

"Are you sure about that? I have gotted sick lots of times this year." Tommy replied.

"I'm pretty sure, besides, you've hardly played with us all day. Please? For me? This is after all, a playdate at my house, and I have lots of fun on our adventures together." Said Zack.

Tommy thought about it for a minute before responding.

"Well, ok, we can go into the secret cave behind the couch, come on then." Said Tommy, as he led the way back behind the couch.

No sooner was he behind the couch, when a huge cloud of dust blew up in his face, and caused him to sneeze.

"Ah chew!" Sneezed Tommy.

"Bless you Tommy." Said Chuckie.

At that point, Tommy turned around and made his way out from behind the couch, blocking the path so nobody could enter.

"See Zack? See that you guys? I just sneezed. Now I'm gonna get sick, and I won't be able to go on the big trip nextest week. We're not going to no secret cave, or at least, I'm not anyway." Said Tommy, as he ran back to the main part of the living room, and sat down in the middle of the floor, the other toddlers, hurtled on one side of the couch, just exchanging looks, not sure what to think of Tommy anymore.

Before anybody could speak up, Celeste came into the living room, and noticed that it was feeling kind of stuffy, so she opened the window to let some fresh air in.

"Ah, there we go. Let's get a nice breeze in here. Now isn't that better kids? And Peter will be over shortly to babysit you guys because I have to go into work, so you all be nice to him ok? And Tommy, since you seem to be so into healthy foods, you'll be happy to learn that Peter is bringing over a fruit salad to have with dinner tonight." Said Celeste with a smile, as she turned to leave the living room to go get her things ready for work.

Tommy gazed at the open window with the gentle breeze coming in, as he had a flashback to as far back as he could remember. It was way back to the first time he could recall getting sick. Way before the gray plague, in fact, way before his brother was born. He had barely turned a year old, when Angelica slept over for the first time at his house. She opened the window in his room and got him sick. Worried for his health, Tommy ran out of the room, off to Zack's bedroom, and hid beneath the covers on Zack's Reptar racecar bed, and decided to take a nap.

"Tommy! Come back!" Kimi called, as the other toddlers chased after Tommy to Zack's room, but Tommy didn't answer. He just wanted to be alone, and didn't wish to skip his nap, so he ignored them, as he ran off towards the bedroom and hid beneath the blankets.

"Tommy? You sure you're all right?" Chuckie asked out of concern for his friend, but when he pulled back the blankets to find that Tommy had fallen asleep, he pulled them back up over his head, and turned towards the others.

"Come on you guys, I don't think Tommy, or whoever this person is that Zack had over to play, wants to play with us no more." Chuckie said disappointingly, as he and the other toddlers left Zack's room and returned to the living room, where they sat down on the floor, and finally got to watch the Reptar DVD in peace.

"What are we gonna do about Tommy you guys?" Chuckie asked.

"I have no idea. I hope Peter has some ideas, as I'm fresh out of them, and I just, want the old Tommy back." Said Zack.

"Yeah, me too." Said Lil, as she started to cry.

The other toddlers started crying right along with Lil, just as Peter showed up to babysit.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Peter asked, as he took a seat on the couch.

"It's, Tommy." Chuckie replied through his sobs.

"Is he ok? He's not sick is he?" Peter asked.

"No, I almost wish he were sick." Said Zack.

"Now Zack that's not very nice." Said Peter.

"Well it's true. He's been putting on this healthy attitude." Zack replied.

"Come on Zack, being healthy isn't a bad thing. We should all do healthy things, like getting exercise, eating fruits and vegetables, and getting plenty of sleep at night." Said Peter.

"Yeah well, Tommy has gone too far." Said Zack.

"He even canceled an aventure cuz some dust behind the couch made him sneeze." Said Phil.

"And he wouldn't go swimming with us cuz he said wet clothes give you a cold." Said Lil.

"And, and, he ran out of here when Zack's aunt opened the window, and ran off to Zack's room to take a nap. That one I'll never understand." Said Chuckie.

"Leave it up to me, I'll have a talk with him once he's awake. So, I see we're watching some Reptar, wanna unpause the DVD and we finish the movie?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, come on guys, let's finish watching Reptar, which, Tommy claimed watching TV was unhealthy too. And all he'd eat was yogurt. No Reptar cerial, no fried chicken." Said Zack, as he unpaused the DVD, as they had paused it when Lil started crying.

When the movie finished, Tommy still hadn't made an appearance, so Peter decided to go check on him. He got to Zack's room, where he saw Tommy just waking up, yawning and stretching, sitting up in the Reptar racecar bed.

"Hey Tommy old buddy, have a nice nap?" Peter asked.

Tommy nodded and smiled, as he stood up and walked towards the door where Peter was standing.

"I brought over some delicious chocolate-chip cookies for a snack, want some? I helped my servants at the castle make them." Said Peter with a grin.

"That's nice, but I thought Zack's aunt tolded us you were bringing fruit salad." Said Tommy.

"She did, but that's to have with our dinner tonight. We're gonna have pizza and fruit salad tonight." Said Peter.

"I think I'll stick to the fruit salad. My mommy says pizza is unhealthy." Said Tommy.

"Well, if you'd rather have some salad for a snack, I guess you can have some, come on." Said Peter, as he and Tommy headed into the kitchen, and everybody had a snack, Tommy having fruit salad, while everyone else, surprised by Tommy's food choice, had cookies.

"No cookies?" Phil asked, surprised.

"No Phil, I don't ever wanna get sick ever again. And the doctor says to eat lots of fruit and vegetables." Said Tommy.

They gave him that look, and went on eating their snacks, when Peter's iPhone rang. He answered it to see it was a facetime call from Mary and Rosie.

"Hi Peter." Said Mary.

"Hi Mary." Peter replied.

"I'm here too Peter." Said Rosie excitedly.

"I know who you're looking for. You're looking for Tommy. Well, you're in luck, as I'm over babysitting Zack, but Tommy and their friends all came over to play." Said Peter, as he brought the iPhone over to the table where Tommy had just finished up his bowl of fruit salad, and placed the phone down in front of Tommy.

"Hi Rosie." Said Tommy.

"Hey Tommy, guess what? I've got some exciting news to tell you!" Said Rosie.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Our babysitter Sandy, she's going to Washington D.C. to see the baseball game and Taffy perform, and she's agreed to bring me and Mary with her! And didn't you tell me you and your friends were going too?" Rosie asked.

Tommy nodded, as the smile on his face faded, and tears, came to his eyes.

"Tommy! What's wrong?" Rosie asked.

But Tommy didn't say anything. Not wanting Rosie to see him crying, he hopped down from his chair at the kitchen table, and ran back to Zack's room, where he hid beneath the covers on his Reptar racecar bed again.

"Uh, Rosie, can we call you back later? I think I need to go have a talk with Tommy, he's been acting funny all day." Said Peter.

"What do you mean?" Rosie asked.

"He's a health nut that's what." Zack snapped.

"Yeah, he's changed, and I don't like him no more." Added Chuckie.

"Now Chuckie, you don't mean that, do you?" Peter asked.

"I just want my bestest friend back." Chuckie replied, about ready to cry.

"Well, I'm gonna go get him back. We'll talk to you later Rosie, once we get this all straightened out." Said Peter, as he disconnected the facetime call, and headed off looking for Tommy.

And this, ends chapter 2. So, will Peter convince Tommy that while it's a good idea to be healthy, there's such a thing as being too healthy, to cut back a bit? We'll find out in the next chapter, so please, do stay tuned!

Author's Note: I should also point out here too, that I don't own Super Why, they're the property of their original creaters. And sorry if I got anything wrong in the episode I had Zack watching on DVD, as I haven't actually seen it, but yeah, figured I'd state such. With that, be looking for the next chapter, very soon!


	3. Straightening Tommy Out

Chapter 3, Straightening Tommy Out

Peter searched all over the apartment for Tommy, until he finally found him. He had run off to Zack's room, now crying, his head buried in the pillow he slept on in Zack's bed, lying beneath the covers. Peter sat down on the edge of the Reptar racecar bed and put a comforting hand on Tommy's back. As he began to rub his back to calm him down, the two-year-old toddler squirmed around, sitting up, tears streaked down his face, as he looked up to see Peter trying to comfort him.

"You ok Tommy?" Peter asked.

Tommy nodded, the froun never leaving his face.

"You wanna tell me what's going on here?" Peter asked, putting a comforting hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"You know very well what's going on." Said Tommy.

"Yes, I do. I know you've gotten sick a lot this year, and a bunch of other stuff has happened to you too, but what caused this sudden interest in being healthy?" Peter asked.

"I went to the doctor's yesterday, and he toldid me all of this stuff to do to make me healthy so I wouldn't get sick. After getting sick so much, I decided I'd better change my ways." Explained Tommy, as he wiped the tears away from his face with his sleeve, and scooted up next to Peter.

"Look, I understand you wanted to do all of these things to make yourself healthy, but do you also realize you cheated yourself out of a lot of great fun with your friends today? I mean come on, not watching Reptar? Not enjoying the chocolate-chip cookies I baked? And who knows what else you gave up on. It's a good idea to be healthy, I do know that, but only give up something you love to do if it's truly dangerous, and trust me, you may have gotten sick a lot this last year, but you're nowhere near as unhealthy as some. I mean take a look at Angelica. With the way that girl eats cookies, I'm surprised she can still fit through the door sometimes. Now don't tell her I said that of course, but I hope you see my point. You were doing just fine to begin with." Explained Peter.

"If I was doing just fine, then how come I gotted sick so many times this lastest year? And how come I sneezed when going through the secret cave earlier?" Tommy asked.

"May I ask where this secret cave was?" Peter asked.

"Behind Zack's couch." Tommy replied.

"Oh Tommy, you probably just breathed in some dust, it's no big deal. It happens to all of us every once in a while. And look, I'm no doctor, so can't explain, but sometimes, we all just, have a year of bad luck. I can recall back when I turned eight-years-old. Worst year of my life! Seems like every single time I turned around, I caught what was going around school, causing me to be stuck at home half the time, but the following year, it all, went away. I mean sure, I got the occasional cold, may have gotten a stomach virus here and there, but nothing like the previous year. So take it from a friend who really cares about you a lot. You're gonna be ok. So please, do us all a favor, and just, be yourself. If anything, you keep up this attitude, and you're gonna possibly become mentally sick, cuz you're deprived or missing stuff you really like to eat or do, plus, you're starting to drive Zack and Chuckie crazy. And what's with the water works when Rosie gave you her big news about coming to Washington D.C. I thought you'd be excited!" Said Peter.

"I am, I wanna see Rosie, but the lastest time I saw her, and when we first metted, I was sick both times, and you member, Rosie was sick when we had to leave Boston. I don't wanna be sick when I see her, or for my nextest birthday." Tommy said.

"Tommy, I don't think Rosie had anything to do with you getting sick. I think what happened in both instances, and I'm pretty sure about this, is it was a cooencidence." Said Peter.

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"It's where something happens at the same time, but in this case, it happened twice. Both times you saw Rosie, you got sick. Trust me, if Rosie had the power to make people sick, I think more than you would have been sick at that rate. Now, do you think we can go and play with your friends and have some fun?" Peter asked, grinning down at his friend.

Tommy stood up and smiled, glad to know that he was going to be ok.

"Yeah, let's go." Said Tommy, as he led the way out of Zack's room into the living room, where the toddlers were playing with oversized duplo blocks, building a tower.

"Hey Tommy, I see you decided to join us." Said Zack.

"Yep, and from now on, I'm gonna go back to my old self. Besides, I like yogurt, but I like Reptar cerial and the fried chicken too." Said Tommy.

"You mean it? Cuz you scared me earlier." Said Chuckie.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry I did that." Said Tommy, as he took a seat on the floor next to Chuckie and helped him build a tower with the oversized duplo blocks.

And so, Tommy's health nut phase ended, as he went more or less, back to his old ways, and continued to have fun with Zack and his other friends. They played together the rest of the afternoon, and enjoyed a dinner of some pizza and fruit salad for dinner. And then, because Tommy finished every last bite on his plate, he had some chocolate-chip cookies for dessert, which, he enjoyed a lot. He still tried to do what was important, but didn't approach things so cautiously as he did during the day, because he'd rather have fun, than be worrying about getting sick.

"I do have to ask you Tommy, why did you run out of the room when my aunty opened the window? Were you cold?" Zack asked.

"A little, plus, one time, when I was really little, Angelica slept over and I gotted sick after she opened my window." Replied Tommy.

"Ha ha ha, sorry to laugh, but honestly Tommy, if Angelica got you sick just by doing that, she had to do something extra ordinary to make that happen, as I've had windows open plenty of times, and they've never gotten me sick." Said Peter, as he was cleaning up the table.

"No Peter, I really did get sick. It only lasted till the nextest day though, but yeah." Tommy replied.

"Well ok then, whatever you say, as I wasn't there for that particular slumber party. Trust me, had I been there, I wouldn't have let Angelica open your window if it had been up to me." Said Peter.

No sooner had he said that, when everybody's parents arrived to pick them up, Betty picking up Tommy along with Phil and Lil, since she lived next door, and Stu and Didi didn't feel much up to going back out after having a busy day of running Aarons, getting things they'd need for the upcoming trip they'd be taking in a few days. Chaz and Kira picked up Chuckie and Kimi.

"Thanks for watching the kids Peter." Said Chaz.

"No problem Chaz, it's always a pleasure to spend time with them." Peter replied with a grin.

"Bye guys." Said Zack.

"Bye." Said all of the toddlers in unison, as they ran to catch up with their parents, Peter handing Betty Tommy's overnight bag, and Tommy, now dressed, as he was starting to get hot in his pajamas, left for home.

The next day, Peter ran into Tommy at the park, where he gave Mary and Rosie a call, and Rosie was happy to finally learn, that Tommy was really excited about the trip, he was just, worried because the last two times they saw each other, he was sick.

"Well don't you worry Tommy, if you do get sick when we're together, I'll take care of you, cuz I like you a lot, sick or not." Said Rosie with a grin.

Tommy just looked at the screen of Peter's iPhone where Rosie's face was showing, and smiled. He was glad to know that she still liked him, whether he was sick or not.

And this, ends my ninety-eighth story that's been posted to my Fan Fiction profile, and the story, of The Checkup. I hope you all enjoyed it, and, there'll be plenty of more stories, coming soon!


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